Born in New York in 1936‚ Carl Davis studied composition with Paul Nordoff and Hugo Kauder‚ and subsequently with Per Nørgaard in Copenhagen. His early work in the USA provided valuable conducting experience with organizations such as New York City Opera and the Robert Shaw Chorale. In 1959 the revue Diversions‚ of which he was co-author‚ won an off-Broadway Emmy and subsequently travelled to the 1961 Edinburgh Festival. As a direct result of its success there‚ Davis was commissioned by Ned Sherrin to write music for That Was The Week That Was. Other radio and TV commissions followed and Davis’s UK career was launched. Since then he has been enormously successful in the world of theatre‚ composing scores for the Royal Shakespeare Company and the National Theatre‚ and working closely with such artists as Laurence Olivier‚ John Gielgud‚ Joan Littlewood‚ Jonathan Miller‚ John Wells‚ Barry Humphries and Billy Connolly. In 2005 he was awarded a CBE (Hon).

Davis is equally well-known in the field of dance‚ working with the major choreographers of the day. His first assignment began with London Contemporary Dance Theatre‚ for whom he produced music for David and Goliath (1975) and Dances of Love and Death (1981). Sadler’s Wells Royal Ballet commissioned A Picture of Dorian Gray in 1987‚ and this was followed by commissions from Northern Ballet Theatre - the award-winning A Simple Man (1988) and Lippizaner (1989) both with Gillian Lynne‚ Liaisons Amoureuses (1989); A Christmas Carol (1992). Aladdin (2000)‚ with Robert Cohen‚ was written for Scottish Ballet‚ and later taken up by David Bintley for Tokyo’s New National Ballet in 2008. His association with Derek Deane has led to a full-length ballet‚ Alice in Wonderland (1995) commissioned by the English National Ballet and based on themes by Tchaikovsky‚ as well as The Lady of the Camellias (2008)‚ which was commissioned by the National Ballet of Croatia. A full-length ballet commissioned by David Bintley for Birmingham’s Royal Ballet resulted in Cyrano (2007).

Davis’s output for film and television is vast‚ including The World At War‚ The Snow Goose‚ Hotel du Lac‚ Hollywood‚ The Naked Civil Servant‚ Silas Marner‚ Champions‚ Scandal‚ The Commanding Sea‚ Oppenheimer‚ The Rainbow‚ The French Lieutenant’s Woman (the winner of both the BAFTA and Ivor Novello awards). Pride and Prejudice (nominated for a BASCA Ivor Novello award for Best Music for a Television Production in 1996) has been one of his best-loved scores and this was followed by Cranford in 2007‚ also for BBC. Music for silent films has been an enduring strand to Davis’s activities: a project to revive the Chaplin films has focussed on The Mutuals - a cycle of 12 films all with original Davis music. His 1980 score for Abel Gance’s silent film Napoleon triggered an extraordinary revival of interest in the silent film‚ and Davis’s oeuvre of more than fifty scores for this medium‚ including Flesh and the Devil‚ Ben-Hur‚ The Thief of Bagdad‚ Greed‚ Intolerance‚ Safety Last and The General‚ has brought him international acclaim. The Phantom of the Opera was the first silent film to be performed at the Royal Opera House (2006) conducted by the composer.

Throughout his career Carl Davis has composed concert works‚ among which a Clarinet Concerto‚ a Fantasy for Flute‚ Strings and Harpsichord‚ a Ballade for cello and orchestra and a Symphony (Lines on London) are particularly notable. There are also many concert suites derived from film scores‚ vocal music‚ choral works‚ instrumental and chamber music‚ and opera. In 1991 his collaboration with Paul McCartney produced Paul McCartney’s Liverpool Oratorio‚ which has been performed in many countries throughout the world. The EMI recording of the work has achieved record sales world-wide‚ whilst the BBC documentary and EMI’s commercial video have done much to publicize this new departure for both composers.